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Blanche of Castile

(Encyclopedia)Blanche of Castile bläNsh, kăstēlˈ [key], 1185?–1252, queen of Louis VIII of France and regent during the minority (1226–34) of their son Louis IX. A forceful and capable ruler, she checked th...

Ferdinand I, king of Portugal

(Encyclopedia)Ferdinand I, 1345–83, king of Portugal (1367–83), son and successor of Peter I. His ambitions and his private life plunged the realm into disaster, although during his reign agricultural reform wa...

Thibaut IV

(Encyclopedia)Thibaut IV tēbōˈ [key], 1201–53, French trouvère, count of Champagne. He became Thibaut I, king of Navarre, in 1234, succeeding his uncle Sancho VII. He was defeated while leading a Crusade (123...

Diane de France

(Encyclopedia)Diane de France dyän də fräNs [key], 1538–1619, duchess of Angoulême; illegitimate daughter of King Henry II of France. She was legitimized in 1547. She was married to François, eldest son of C...

López de Ayala, Pedro

(Encyclopedia)López de Ayala, Pedro pāˈᵺrō lōˈpāth ᵺā äyäˈlä [key], 1332–1407, Spanish statesman, poet, and chronicler. As a royal official in Castile, he served Peter the Cruel, Henry II, John I,...

Alfonso I, Spanish king of Asturias

(Encyclopedia)Alfonso I (Alfonso the Catholic), 693?–757, Spanish king of Asturias (739–57). He was the son-in-law of the first Asturian king, Pelayo. A Berber rebellion (740–41) against the Moors enabled him...

Alfonso II, Spanish king of Asturias

(Encyclopedia)Alfonso II (Alfonso the Chaste), 759–842, Spanish king of Asturias (791–842), grandson of Alfonso I. He established his capital at Oviedo, which his father, Fruela I, had founded. Continuing the s...

Alfonso III, Spanish king of Asturias

(Encyclopedia)Alfonso III (Alfonso the Great), 838?–911?, Spanish king of Asturias (866–911?). He recovered the territory of León from the Moors. The kingdom was consolidated in his reign, but after his forced...

Alfonso V, Spanish king of León

(Encyclopedia)Alfonso V (Alfonso the Noble), 994?–1027, Spanish king of León (999–1027). While he was still a minor, the Moorish ruler al-Mansur died, and the Spanish court recovered the city of León. Alfonso...

Ferdinand II, Spanish king of León

(Encyclopedia)Ferdinand II, d. 1188, Spanish king of León (1157–88), son and successor of Alfonso VII. He invaded Castile and set up a protectorate during the minority (1158–66) of his nephew Alfonso VIII. He ...